Hosting your first Thanksgiving together is kind of a big deal right? You have to carefully include all the usual suspects and the family regulars. All the in laws have to be included, especially if you hope to receive props for your delicious cooking. The pressure to decorate and bake can be a lot to handle for a newlywed couple. That is why we have put together a list of how to survive hosting your first holiday together! We were influenced by a terrific article we found on Huffington Post and wanted to add a few additional pointers.

Gourds are a great conversation piece. These candy corn gourds from familycircle.com can be filled with votive candles or festive candy.

Guest List: Make sure you invite everyone. Even if you’re unsure whether your in-laws can handle your outspoken opinionated family, you’ll have bigger problems if you forget to invite a crucial guest who has been invited to every holiday event for the past twenty years. Be aware your guest list might grow and duplicate but a slight can really hurt your chances of hosting in the future.

Incorporate Your Personal Traditions: Now is your chance to show the in-laws what you bring to the table. Family traditions from your family will blend into your new family so incorporating both into the big day will help show both mothers that you’re including them.

Decorate With Conversation Pieces: Incorporating candles into your festive centerpieces is only the tip of the iceberg. Use glass vases filled with artificial leaves to represent fall, then decorate with cinnamon pinecones in the entryway to lure guests in. Transform an pillar candle by wrapping twigs and other found nature objects around the outside with a rubber band. Then cover the rubber band with ribbon or rhinestone ribbon wrap.

Potluck Style Is Okay Too: Letting the in laws help with a small side dish or an appetizer is a great way to make them feel welcome. Plus, ask them to bring a recipe card or special family dish that has meaning. This way you have a conversation starter for when things get a little quiet. Ask them to share a special story about past Thanksgivings or holidays.

Plan an Activity: A wishing tree is a great way to show your friends and family that you’re thankful and appreciative for their support and love. Decorate a manzanita tree centerpiece with silver glitter or crystal garland. Then hang things you’re thankful for on wishing tags. Guests can opt to add their own before the meal. This is a great activity to show the children that giving thanks is an important part of getting together for the holidays.

Here’s a great idea by Kate Crowle that she shared with us on Pinterest!

Happy holidays and everyone at Koyal Wholesale is wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!

Next week is Thanksgiving and the thing we’re most thankful for this year is our large growing Koyal family. We love our team for their creativity and fun personalities. The easiest way to get through the work week is to surround yourself with hard working individuals that really make work enjoyable. Well, before we go any further into sentimental land, let’s introduce our next contest shall we?

Since we’re approaching Thanksgiving and family is in town for the holidays, our next photo contest is going to ask you to submit your funniest family photo. This photo can be of any sized family, from the two of you to a dozen goofy aunts and uncles. Who ever you consider your family, if the funny photo fits, you’re in!

The top 3 winners will receive Koyal Dollars, good toward purchases online at Koyal Wholesale. 1st place will receive $25 Koyal Dollars, 2nd place – $15, and 3rd place – $10. Voting starts now! Accepting entries all the way until 12/01/11. Voting ends 12/02/11 at midnight PST. Winners will be announced on 11/03/11.

The contest is open to all families and couples who have not previously won a Koyal giftcard or Koyal Dollars.

ENTRY
Entering the Koyal Wholesale Funny Family Photo Contest is as easy as 1-2-3!

Send the following to claire[at]koyal[dot]com: (1) Funny photo of your family + (2) entrants full names (minimum of 2) + (3) a link to your favorite Koyal product.

Become friends with “Claire Martine” on Facebook. This way we can tag your photo so your friends can find you more easily! We will place these photos in a special “Funniest Family & Couples Photo Contest” album on Facebook.

Get your friends and family to follow the directions below to vote for you! The photo that receives the most “Like” and “shares” votes … wins!!!

VOTING
To place a vote, you must be a fan of Koyal Wholesale on Facebook. Press the “Like” button under the photo of your favorite couple. The winning couple will be determined by having the most “likes”. (“Like” comments will not count). In the case of a tie for the winner, a winner will be selected randomly from the tied parties. To maximize your chances of winning, encourage your family, friends, and acquaintances to become fans of Koyal Wholesale on Facebook so they can cast a vote for you.

We all know decorating for the holidays can be stressful and complicated. Maybe you’re inviting 25 guests and you just don’t have the right amount of plates and cutlery to properly serve everyone. No host wants to use plain white paper plates for a special holiday party. It’s certainly a good thing that you can now find bulk dinner plates. You’ll have enough for future dinner parties and won’t have to resort to using paper plates! For Thanksgiving celebrations, use our Bone Dinner Plate with terra cota colored tableware or a chocolate brown tablecloth. Any fall decor or turkey table decorations would go great with either color. By using disposable plates you’ll spend less time worrying about cleaning up and more time with your family and friends.

What better way to give thanks that you create a beautiful Thanksgiving tree? This beautiful tablescape is from celebrationsathomeblog.com. Although this centerpiece would be perfect for a fall wedding, you can easily recreate this look for a thanksgiving dinner. Using a manzanita branch and hanging tags. Stand up your tree in a special vase and secure with rocks or foam. Then place a bowl of tags in your entryway and invite your guests to write down something they are thankful for. Then when you sit down for dinner each guest can take turns reading aloud their thanks and placing it somewhere on the tree. Decorate the rest of the table with edible arrangements such as nuts and snacks. Simple place a tall slim candle in your glass vases and then surround the candle with nuts of your choosing. Here is a little inspiration from goodhousekeeping.com: